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Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) head coach Andy Flower expressed confidence in the team ahead of the defending champions' playoffs campaign in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Despite a 55-run defeat to the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in their last group-stage game on Friday, RCB ended at the top of the points table. While RCB have 18 points, the same as Gujarat Titans (GT) and SRH, they are ahead of both teams by virtue of a better net run rate. RCB will take on GT in Qualifier 1 on May 26, with a win securing them a place in the final. Even if they lose, they will still have another opportunity to reach the final through Qualifier 2 against the winner of the Eliminator. Speaking at the post-match press conference, Andy Flower said RCB are carrying plenty of confidence into the IPL playoffs after topping the league standings with consistent performances. "We played a lot of good cricket to finish top of this league. This league is an outstanding league with 10 very good teams. So, to top the league, you've got to play some really good cricket and do a lot of things well. And I think we've done that. So, we've got a lot of confidence going into the playoffs," he said. Flower said RCB played great cricket to finish at the top of the table, remarking, "It is great that we topped the table. And we played some really good cricket over the length of the tournament to do that." In their clash against SRH yesterday, the Rajat Patidar-led side faced a 55-run loss. In a high-scoring match, SRH posted a massive 255/4 while batting first, powered by explosive half-centuries from Ishan Kishan (79), Abhishek Sharma (56) and Heinrich Klaasen (51). Nitish Kumar Reddy also provided a late flourish with an unbeaten 29. In reply, RCB started aggressively through Venkatesh Iyer (44 off 19 balls), but regular wickets halted their chase. Rajat Patidar scored 56 while Krunal Pandya remained unbeaten on 41, but RCB finished at 200/4. Eshan Malinga starred with the ball for SRH, taking 2/33 in a dominant victory. (ANI)
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